How to optimise your LinkedIn profile for tech recruiters

Recruiters often use LinkedIn as a primary resource to find suitable tech candidates for various roles.

Completing your LinkedIn profile with a professional picture, detailed work experiences, and relevant skills is essential to standing out in the market. However, we aim to offer guidance that transcends the basics by showing you how to use today’s best tools and approaches effectively.

This article discusses how professionals can optimise their LinkedIn profiles for recruiters and land their dream jobs in tech.

Put on your copywriter hat in the About section

Your LinkedIn profile is your professional billboard. It’s where first impressions are formed, and opportunities are born. But if you’re not naturally a wordsmith, how do you craft a narrative that captures your unique professional essence?

That’s where the art of copywriting comes in.

Copywriting is about persuasion, personality, and precision. It’s about finding the right words to tell your story, highlight your achievements, and showcase your potential. 

So, instead of just your job title, use a headline that synthesises and transmits your expertise and value proposition. Here are two tips on how to come up with that.

Highlight your unique value proposition (UVP)

A LinkedIn summary should begin with a clear statement of your unique value proposition (UVP). What is it that sets you apart from other professionals?

This UVP could encompass unique skills, experiences, or accomplishments. For instance:

• Skills: I specialise in data analysis and visualisation, utilising advanced tools like Tableau and Python.

• Experiences: Over a decade’s experience in renewable energy project management, guiding teams to deliver projects on time and within budget.

• Accomplishments: Recognised as the top sales manager for three consecutive years, achieving an average year-on-year growth of 20%.

Incorporate relevant keywords

Also, it's vital to naturally incorporate industry-specific keywords to ensure your profile appears in the job search by tech recruiters looking for potential candidates. Use a bulleted list to present keywords that reflect your key skills and areas of expertise:

• Data Analyst: Data mining, Predictive modelling, Tableau, Python, PowerBI, SQL.

• Software Engineer: Algorithm development, cloud computing, GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, Kubernetes.

Keywords should mirror the language found in job descriptions, thus tailoring the summary to the roles you apply for. This strategic placement of relevant keywords can enhance the profile's visibility in a crowded job market and bring you one step closer to securing the interview.

Clearly state your achievements

The experience section of a LinkedIn profile serves as a crucial touchpoint for recruiters. It's essential to articulate one's professional narrative effectively, highlighting significant achievements and demonstrating the impact of your work through clear, active language and measurable outcomes.

According to Donnie Maclary, principal recruitment consultant for technology at Airswft, highlighting your projects is essential. He says:

List your own projects, what you’re working on, even if it’s just your GitHub contributions. Startups especially look for people who can demonstrate initiative and that can work independently or pivot quickly.

Showcase your milestones with active language

Don’t just list responsibilities; highlight key accomplishments and their impact on the company or industry.

Individuals should emphasise their key achievements and career milestones within each listed position to capture a recruiter's attention. Including specific awards, promotions, or recognitions provide tangible evidence of success and ambition. For instance:

1. Recognised as ‘Developer of the Year 2023’ within the company for exceptional problem-solving skills and innovative contributions to key projects.

2. Spearheaded a cross-functional team of 12 programmers to successfully refactor legacy code, enhancing system efficiency by 25%.

3. Pioneered the integration of AI-driven automation tools, reducing manual testing time by 40% and accelerating product release cycles.

4. Authored a widely-adopted open-source library that improved development practices within the tech community.

5. Initiated and led a mentorship program that upskilled junior software engineers, resulting in a 30% increase in team productivity.

Notice how each example strategically employs active language. This imbues the profile with vibrance, energy, and direction, showcasing your role in driving results.

Seek meaningful endorsements from peers and managers

Endorsements serve as social proof of one's abilities. One should seek endorsements from colleagues, supervisors, and clients who can vouch for their skills and experience.

They should look beyond peers and try to get endorsements from industry-recognised leaders, as these can carry more weight.

Users can request endorsements for specific skills from their connections, and it is helpful to endorse others as well to encourage reciprocity—we have here a great LinkedIn recommendation template to help you with that.

Demonstrate thought leadership

Thought leadership is an underexplored area that could be pivotal for your professional growth. Creating valuable content, be it an article or a LinkedIn post, can lead to unexpected benefits. It’s also a manner to express your authentic self, attracting companies that resonate with your values.

Today, we face a lack of original and relevant content. This is partly because many hesitate to express their viewpoints on public platforms like social media and partly because influencers are delegating content creation to artificial intelligence, resulting in a loss of uniqueness and personal touch.

This scenario presents a unique opportunity for you. Thought leadership isn’t about being the most accomplished individual or at the pinnacle of your career. It’s about sharing unique personal experiences that provide value to others—something that artificial intelligence cannot replicate.

The questions you need to answer to be a thought leader

Of course, creating great thought leadership content means choosing your words carefully and making your point clearly and confidently. It's a tough task, but if you think and answer the following questions, you're on the right path to creating this type of content.

1. What unique perspectives or experiences do I have that can offer fresh insights into my field?

2. How can I articulate my viewpoints in a way that is both authentic to me and valuable to my audience?

3. What challenges have I overcome that could inspire or guide others in similar situations?

4. How can I encourage constructive dialogue and critical thinking within my community or industry?

5. How can I ensure my content remains genuine and personal, even if I incorporate data or research to support my points?

6. What actionable advice can I provide based on my journey that others can apply professionally?

7. How can I demonstrate vulnerability and learn from failures to humanise my content and make it relatable?

When you find those answers and gather in cohesive storytelling, you can produce relevant content that connects with people and convinces them more smoothly.

Use AI to enhance your LinkedIn profile

Now that you understand the importance of a well-optimised LinkedIn profile, here’s how AI can help you further enhance your presence on LinkedIn.

AI to start, not to finish

AI tools are excellent for laying the groundwork of your LinkedIn profile. They can help you start by structuring your experiences and skills in a systematic way. However, it’s crucial to add your personal touch to make your profile stand out. AI can suggest the building blocks, but the final presentation should reflect your individuality and passion.

Co-creating with AI 

When optimising your LinkedIn profile, co-creation with AI means using it as a partner in the process. Begin by understanding the role-playing technique, which involves emulating the language and style of professionals in your desired role or industry. 

AI can help you tailor your profile to align perfectly with employer expectations, ensuring your application communicates in the same language as your potential employer.

Enhance your profile with ChatGPT prompts

For example, artificial intelligence software like ChatGPT can suggest ways creative ways to highlight your hard skills and certifications effectively.

Moreover, AI can guide you in showcasing your key accomplishments and scenarios where you translated requirements into business solutions. Including links to your GitHub libraries or other portfolios can also be valuable, and AI can assist in presenting these in an engaging manner.

Beyond the Resume

Your LinkedIn profile is more than just a resume; it’s a platform to showcase your professional identity. AI can help you maintain a dynamic profile that reflects your ongoing projects, achievements, and contributions to your field. It’s a tool to keep your profile updated and relevant, offering you these contributions:

• Profile optimisation: AI can analyse job descriptions and suggest keywords to include in your profile, making it more discoverable to recruiters.
  

• Content summary: It can help generate summaries of your projects and work experience, ensuring your contributions are communicated effectively. Skill Endorsements: AI can recommend skills to add based on your experience, and suggest endorsements to seek from colleagues.

• Networking suggestions: By analysing your interests and industry, AI can recommend professionals to connect with, expanding your professional network.

• Job recommendations: It can match your skills and experiences with available job listings, providing personalised job recommendations.

• Profile updates: AI can remind you to update your profile regularly with new achievements or portfolio pieces, keeping your presence active and current.

Remember, while AI is a powerful tool, it’s your unique skills and experiences that will truly make your LinkedIn profile shine.

Too obvious? Maybe not: Update regularly!